Plugged into Peace

I bought a shirt online a few years back that I loved so much I wore it to shreds. It had an image of a face wearing earmuffs labeled “peace” while all around in crimson text read words like anxiety, lies, stress, negativity, depression, etc. Though the shirt was called “earmuffs,” I found that problematic. In my experience, the voices of provocation, challenge, doubt, fear, comparison and anxiety can’t be avoided, they can only be faced and acknowledged.

I guess it’s for this reason, I always imagined the character on the tee wearing headphones. When I am present to joy, present to gratitude, filled with love, I can be at peace. I can allow the voices to swirl, the engine of my brain to keep spinning even as I shift my conscious mind into neutral. My challenges and problems become smaller not by diminishing them, but by being aware of something bigger. What you focus on expands, am I right?

Standing for something that deeply matters to you will stir the waters of your soul and bring up these voices now and again, but you don’t need to tune them out. Believe me, I still hear self-doubt, entitlement, and accusation in my head. Fear is like a little kid, and you can love yourself and accept the parts of yourself that don’t know how to feel. Stay plugged into that Source of peace and you can face whatever comes. What do you do to stay tuned into peace?